Northrop M2-F3

The Northrop M2-F3 was a heavyweight lifting body rebuilt from the M2-F2 after that vehicle crashed at the Dryden Flight Research Center on May 10, 1967. NASA pilots had reported lateral control problems on the M2-F2, so the original manufacturer, Northrop, repaired it over about three years and added a third vertical fin centered between the tip fins. The M in the name means manned and the F means flight. Its first flight, with NASA pilot Bill Dana, was June 2, 1970, and the first powered flight followed on November 25, 1970. It flew 27 missions, reached a top speed of Mach 1.6 and an altitude of 71,500 feet, and tested a reaction control thruster system like those on spacecraft. NASA gave it to the Smithsonian in December 1973 and it is displayed at the Udvar-Hazy Center.